Prelude To Blitzkrieg: The 1916 Austro-german Campaign In Romania

Hardcover | October 23, 2013

In contrast to the trench-war deadlock on the Western Front, combat in Romania and Transylvania in 1916 foreshadowed the lightning warfare of WWII. When Romania joined the Allies and invaded Transylvania without warning, the Germans responded by unleashing a campaign of bold, rapid infantry movements, with cavalry providing cover or pursuing the crushed foe. Hitting where least expected and advancing before the Romanians could react-even bombing their capital from a Zeppelin soon after war was declared-the Germans and Austrians poured over the formidable Transylvanian Alps onto the plains of Walachia, rolling up the Romanian army from west to east, and driving the shattered remnants into Russia. Prelude to Blitzkrieg tells the story of this largely ignored campaign to determine why it did not devolve into the mud and misery of trench warfare, so ubiquitous elsewhere.

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In contrast to the trench-war deadlock on the Western Front, combat in Romania and Transylvania in 1916 foreshadowed the lightning warfare of WWII. When Romania joined the Allies and invaded Transylvania without warning, the Germans responded by unleashing a campaign of bold, rapid infantry movements, with cavalry providing cover or pu...

Michael B. Barrett was Professor of History at The Citadel for over thirty-five years, and is Brigadier General (ret.), U.S. Army Reserve. He is author of Operation Albion: The German Conquest of the Baltic Islands (IUP, 2008).

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Table of Contents

List of MapsPrefaceList of Selected Abbreviations1. Romania Enters the War2. The Central Powers Respond3. The First Dobrogea Campaign4. Clearing Transylvania5. The Second Dobrogea Campaign6. Stalemate in the Mountains7. Moldavia: The Forgotten Front8. The Drive across Walachia9. The Fall of Bucharest and the End of the 1916 Campaign10. ConclusionNotesBibliographyIndex

Editorial Reviews

"[Barrett's] treatment of the Central Powers is extensive, and his research in this regard can only be described as exhaustive. This work will stand as the definitive study of the Central Powers part of the campaign for some time to come." -Journal of Military History